# Bill Hegney

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{{Short description|Australian politician}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific_prefix = [The Honourable](/source/The_Honourable)
|name        = Bill Hegney
|honorific_suffix = 
|image       = 
|alt         = 
|caption     = 
|office = Member of the [Legislative Assembly](/source/Western_Australian_Legislative_Assembly)<br/>of [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia)
|constituency = [Pilbara](/source/Electoral_district_of_Pilbara)
|term_start  = 18 March 1939
|term_end    = 25 March 1950
|predecessor = [Frank Welsh](/source/Frank_Welsh_(politician))
|successor   = [Aloysius Rodoreda](/source/Aloysius_Rodoreda)
|constituency2 = [Mount Hawthorn](/source/Electoral_district_of_Mount_Hawthorn)
|term_start2  = 25 March 1950
|term_end2    = 23 March 1968
|predecessor2 = [Les Nimmo](/source/Les_Nimmo)
|successor2   = [Ron Bertram](/source/Ron_Bertram)
|birth_date         = {{Birth date|1896|1|11|df=y}}
|birth_place        = [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne), [Victoria](/source/Victoria_(Australia)), Australia
|death_date         = {{Death date and age|1982|10|13|1896|1|11|df=y}}
|death_place        = [Hilton](/source/Hilton%2C_Western_Australia), [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia), Australia
|party              = [Labor](/source/Australian_Labor_Party_(Western_Australian_Branch))
|alma_mater         = 
}}
'''William Hegney''' (11 January 1896 – 13 October 1982) was an Australian politician who was a [Labor Party](/source/Australian_Labor_Party_(Western_Australian_Branch)) member of the [Legislative Assembly](/source/Western_Australian_Legislative_Assembly) of [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia) from 1939 to 1968. He served as a minister in the government of [Albert Hawke](/source/Albert_Hawke).

== Biography ==
Hegney was born in [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne), as was his older brother [James](/source/James_Hegney) (also a future MP). The brothers came to Western Australia as children, where their father worked for [Western Australian Government Railways](/source/Western_Australian_Government_Railways). Hegney initially worked as a clerk with the Taxation Department, but later moved to the country, working as a shear and labourer. From 1920, he was the secretary and organiser of the [Australian Workers' Union](/source/Australian_Workers'_Union) (AWU) in [Northam](/source/Northam%2C_Western_Australia), with responsibility for much of regional Western Australia.<ref name="bio">[http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/Library/MPHistoricalData.nsf/LookupName/B6C7E4099B33BF9F482577E50028A647?opendocument William Hegney] – Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 13 May 2016.</ref> At the [1927 state election](/source/1927_Western_Australian_state_election), Hegney ran against Sir [James Mitchell](/source/James_Mitchell_(Australian_politician)), the [Leader of the Opposition](/source/Leader_of_the_Opposition_(Western_Australia)), losing by only a small margin.<ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/148393906 "Pilbara Seat – Bill Hegney Selected"] – ''[Westralian Worker](/source/Westralian_Worker)'', 5 August 1938.</ref> He was soon after elected to the state executive of the AWU, and eventually elected as a delegate from Western Australia to the AWU national executive council.<ref name="bio"/>

At the [1939 state election](/source/1939_Western_Australian_state_election), Hegney was elected to the [seat of Pilbara](/source/Electoral_district_of_Pilbara), defeating the sitting [Nationalist](/source/Nationalist_Party_of_Australia) member, [Frank Welsh](/source/Frank_Welsh_(politician)). At the [1947 election](/source/1947_Western_Australian_state_election), he defeated an independent candidate, Leonard Taplin, by only a single vote, a result that was subsequently overturned by the Court of Disputed Returns. He went on to win [the resulting by-election](/source/1947_Pilbara_state_by-election), keeping his seat. Hegney switched to the [seat of Mount Hawthorn](/source/Electoral_district_of_Mount_Hawthorn) (located within the [Perth](/source/Perth) metropolitan area) at the [1950 election](/source/1950_Western_Australian_state_election). His old seat was won by [Aloysius Rodoreda](/source/Aloysius_Rodoreda), the former member for [Roebourne](/source/Electoral_district_of_Roebourne).<ref name="res">{{cite book|last=Black|first=David|authorlink=David Black (historian)|last2=Prescott|first2=Valerie|title=Election statistics : Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, 1890-1996|year=1997|publisher=Western Australian Parliamentary History Project and Western Australian Electoral Commission|location=Perth, [W.A.]|isbn=0730984095}}</ref> After Labor's victory at the [1953 election](/source/1953_Western_Australian_state_election), Hegney was made [Minister for Native Welfare](/source/Minister_for_Aboriginal_Affairs_(Western_Australia)), [Minister for Labour](/source/Minister_for_Labour_(Western_Australia)), and [Minister for Prices](/source/Minister_for_Prices_(Western_Australia)) in the [Hawke government](/source/Hawke_Ministry_(Western_Australia)). After the [1956 election](/source/1956_Western_Australian_state_election), his titles were Minister for Labour and [Minister for Education](/source/Minister_for_Education_(Western_Australia)), which he held until the defeat of the Labor government three years later. Hegney remained in parliament until his retirement at the [1968 election](/source/1968_Western_Australian_state_election).<ref name="bio"/>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|au-wa}}
{{s-bef|before=[Frank Welsh](/source/Frank_Welsh_(politician))}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for [Pilbara](/source/Electoral_district_of_Pilbara)|years=1939–1950}}
{{s-aft|after=[Aloysius Rodoreda](/source/Aloysius_Rodoreda)}}
{{s-bef|before=[Les Nimmo](/source/Les_Nimmo)}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for [Mount Hawthorn](/source/Electoral_district_of_Mount_Hawthorn)|years=1962–1968}}
{{s-aft|after=[Ron Bertram](/source/Ron_Bertram)}}
|-
{{s-off}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[Victor Doney](/source/Victor_Doney)}}
{{s-ttl|title=[Minister for Native Welfare](/source/Minister_for_Aboriginal_Affairs_(Western_Australia))|years=1953–1956}}
{{s-aft|after=[John Brady](/source/John_Brady_(Australian_politician))}}
{{s-bef|before=[Arthur Abbott](/source/Arthur_Abbott)}}
{{s-ttl|title=[Minister for Prices](/source/Minister_for_Prices_(Western_Australia))|years=1953–1954}}
{{s-non|reason=Abolished}}
{{s-bef|before=[Lindsay Thorn](/source/Lindsay_Thorn)}}
{{s-ttl|title=[Minister for Labour](/source/Minister_for_Labour_(Western_Australia))|years=1953–1959}}
{{s-aft|after=[Charles Perkins](/source/Charles_Perkins_(Australian_politician))}}
{{s-bef|before=[John Tonkin](/source/John_Tonkin)}}
{{s-ttl|title=[Minister for Education](/source/Minister_for_Education_(Western_Australia))|years=1956–1959}}
{{s-aft|after=[Arthur Watts](/source/Arthur_Watts_(politician))}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hegney, Bill}}
Category:1896 births
Category:1982 deaths
Category:Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia
Category:Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Category:Politicians from Melbourne
Category:20th-century Australian politicians
Category:Ministers for education (Western Australia)
Category:20th-century Australian trade unionists

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bill Hegney](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Hegney) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Hegney?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.